Kind Lady

John Sturges’ Kind Lady has a lot in common with Richard Thorpe’s Night Must Fall (1937): both produced by MGM, both based on a stage play first performed in 1935 (penned by Edward Chodorov and Emlyn Williams, respectively), and both presenting the tale of a charming male criminal who preys on a lonely, old woman in order to move into her home and acquire her wealth. In Kind Lady, the victim is Mary Herries (Ethel Barrymore), an art lover who becomes a patron of sorts to an impoverished artist, Henry Elcott (Maurice Evans), after he comes to call one day, admiring her door knocker. When Elcott’s wife takes ill because of the drafty apartment in which they live, Mary invites her into her spacious, warm home to recuperate. This is the beginning of the end. Aided by his associate Edwards (Keenan Wynn) and Edwards’ wife (the always exceptional Angela Lansbury), who take over as butler and nurse, Elcott seizes control of the household by masquerading as her nephew, then proceeds to sell off Mary’s artwork, furniture, and belongings. Despite the proper Victorian milieu, the film in some ways is darker than other noirs because it depicts the risks of kindness: Mary’s mistake was a generous act toward someone in need (at Christmastime, no less!), and the kidnappers themselves continue to behave kindly to Mary even as they violate her autonomy and liquidate her life.